Page 101 of Galadon

The others who still lived on Earth couldn’t understand his words since he spoke a different language, and unlike Aella, he’d never shown an interest in learning English—even through magical means. As he continued to speak on battle strategy, I translated for them.

“There’s no time to shift,” I said, pulling my sword. “Rayna, Darrow, and I will take care of this.”

Aidan frowned. “Are you sure? We are happy to help.”

“Oh, I remember this elf from before.” Lorcan laughed. “This will be fun to watch.”

We jogged toward the border. I noted the gleam in my mate’s eyes as we moved and didn’t mind at all that she’d get a chance to hunt while here. Rayna appreciated having choices about whether to fight or enjoy time with our children, but whenshe found a chance to do battle, she was always a little happier for a while.

The dragons crossed before we made it to the border and headed straight for us, thinking three people in human form versus twelve of them would be an easy win. Darrow waited until they were a hundred feet away, lifted his arms high, and clenched his fists. The Takaran shrieked as they froze midair. The elf brought his arms down, slow at first as he struggled with the weight of his prey, but then sped up to slam them into the ground. A cloud of dirt filled the air above where they struck.

Rayna and I held hands and began shooting lightning at any that tried to rise. Once we came closer to them, we separated and pulled swords. I chose the ones on the right that were attempting to rise, taking pleasure in avoiding their sharp teeth and talons as I cut through their necks with a special blade I’d acquired during my travels.

Rayna did the same with the ones on the left, working her way across the field. She smiled and laughed when one tried to swing his tail at her. The slayer played with him a little before thrusting her sword through his chest, into his heart.

Darrow had changed from magic to blades as well. The fierce warrior plowed through the middle, showing no mercy toward these dragons, though one would have never guessed if they saw how he behaved toward the ones in his world. There were so many differences between the breeds that seeing the pure dragons on Earth again was strange.

After all the Takaran were dead, I moved swiftly toward my mate and pulled her into a tight embrace. She breathed hard with excitement. Even after almost two decades, I never tired of seeing her beautiful face or the happiness reflected in her hazel eyes.

“I admit I miss these kinds of battles sometimes,” she said.

It was beyond me to resist kissing her despite the audience. When I pulled away, I stared down at her. “Whatever you want to do while we’re here, I’ll support it.”

“I know,” she said, brushing her fingertips over my face. “You’ve never broken your promise to keep me as happy as possible, and I don’t expect you to fail now. Let’s enjoy time with our friends while we can before it’s time to return home for good.”

It sounded like the perfect plan to me.

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